tiny single speed
 

Hi everyone,

I am a 21 year old female who is 4'10" and 95 lbs. I am interested in purchasing a single speed, but I am having trouble finding something small enough to fit me comfortably. I am a college student, and as such I am not looking to spend anymore than $300 or so. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

look no further than dahon broadwalk

http://www.thorusa.com/dahon/accessories/oneoff.htm

or a brand new one for $250
http://www.thorusa.com/dahon/current/boardwalk1.htm

Bikes direct has a few models in 43cm.

the windsor hour 43 i believe has 650c wheels, so the geo doesn't get as screwed up as when they try to make tiny 700c bikes

From the specs >>>> http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/thehour.htm it looks like all frame sizes use 700c wheels/tires. But it would be really nice if they did offer some small frames with 650c wheels. I had a GF who was 4'-11", and she had a nice small roadbike with 650c wheels that fit perfectly.

IRO has some frames for smaller riders for like 125 that use 650c wheels...

I enjoy my folder but it's a different animal than a 'standard' type of bike... it's a very relaxed ride so I wouldn't want it for my typical commute or night out with the hooligans.

I'd suggest you keep your eyes on CL or yard sales... I built my mother in law (who's 4'11") a SS from an old women's Nishiki with 24" wheels. Sometimes you'll also find vintage "teen-women's" Schwinns, also with 24" wheels and coaster brake which are very usable. I got one going last summer for a college freshman to use on campus and it turned out to be a cool SS.

I would stick with either 650c or 20" (ISO 406) wheels.
24" tires and rims exist, but there are multiple sizes of 24" (ISO 507, 520 and 540) and they are a bit hard to come by.

20" has plenty of selection and 650c, while limited in tire choice, does have plenty of availability.

iono, my friend has one and it's super difficult to ride IMHO.

There's also some nice mixtes out there with 17" and 18" frames, if having 700c or 27" wheels is important. But then you'd be looking at a conversion and not a new bike.

I'm not so tall myself, have the IRO Heidi (actually I think they've started calling it the "HD" so as not to offend my manly sensibilities), and it's awesome. I could go on and on about it... but a complete is more like $600 (actually on sale for between $550 and $620). Check out the two at the bottom of this page http://www.irocycle.com/index.asp?Pa...TS&Category=35

well, how tall are you?
can you list up small frame, small wheeled SS bikes?

700c and 27" wouldn't work, 90% sure because 700c short bikes are just that... short. It hasn't shrunken in length, and stretches the rider out a lot as well as not have the correct BB position for the rider to ride comfortably.

24" and 650c will work, a bit hard to come by and can be expensive, but they're out there.
A really good bike to start off with would be something like terry bikes, but those are expensive.

an alternative, that I completely omitted for reasons unknown, would be a 26" SS MTB

i think she wants a road bike not a bmx or mtb... it is gonna go over budget to get this bike going... im building a bike for a friend and may end up seeing if those keirin brake mounts work in conjunction with a 48cm frame and 650 wheels as a size solution...

I was just saying get the HD IRO has on sale and go from there, it may take a while to gather parts but it could be done...

it's not very hard to slap on some drops and slick tires for a MTB.

also that iro you linked is double the stated budget...

I'm 5'6"
No, i cannot list up small frames. I don't know any. If I did I would. And I'm not disagreeing with you, i'm just saying that I found that particular bike difficult to ride therefore maybe she would want to try it out for herself first before she buy it off the internet just because it fits her.

good point.
personally, I find my dahon to be just fine, albeit a bit twitchy at the steering.

I believe the windsor hours are just restickered fuji tracks, and the 43 fuji track uses 650. It's pretty stretched out for 650, but it has a shorter chainstay length on the 43 vs the next size up, and the angles seem a little more normal then most shrunken 700c bikes

This would be my vote. SS 559 bikes are able to deal with pretty much anything.

Well the angles are 72 head and 76 seat, which is indicative of trying to get a short top tube and proper clearances with 700c wheels, but I agree that the 1 cm shorter 39.5 cm chainstays suggests smaller wheels. Also, the 28" standover is still pretty high. By contrast the IRO Mark V HD with 650c wheels has 73.5 head, 74.5 seat, 36 cm chainstay and 27" standover. Just for fun I'm going to email BD and ask them.

thanks
 

thanks everyone for the input! i will be sifting through the various suggestions that have been posted. i look forwarding to finding a bike soon so that i can get out and enjoy the nice weather.

I'd get a 24" BMX cruiser, and put some skinny slicks on it. Bullet proof, comfortable, and not much heavier than a single speed road bike.

Not doubting you, but where do you find skinny slicks in 24" ? All I can find are fat, heavy low pressure baloon tires, mostly with off-road tread. By contrast, it's very easy to find narrow, high pressure and lightweight tires in 650C.

I had a pair of 24x1.25" slicks on my cruiser for a bit, those are plenty skinny for city use.

Ohh, my chance to burn you. They carry them at these buildings called "Bike shops". You can usually find a local one...

Seriously though, I don't think they're too hard to find. Even 1.75 K-Rads would make a decent street tire. And you could roll over anything.